Ace Of Spades
by Arabian3332
Summary: Sort of AU, can be set post-Thor: The Dark World. "There used to be six of us. Now I'm the only one left."


**[A/N]: A really angsty Avengers piece inspired by a writing prompt. Rated T for Tony's mouth.**

XxX

"There used to be six of us. Now I'm the only one left."

Tony stopped speaking for a moment, scrubbing his hands over his weary face. The bags under his eyes were prominent, and he looked much older than his years.

"We knew it was going to happen eventually. I mean, yeah, we're super, but we're not immortal. Not even Thor. And I guess that's proof now." His laugh was hollow and short.

"It was never supposed to be me. Not at the end. I was supposed to last a while, but my ticker ain't in top shape. I was gonna go out in battle, some damn blaze-of-glory sacrifice." He took a big gulp from his tumbler of vodka. "I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to start at the beginning."

"The first was Clint. We were fighting on Asgard, some dark elves or shit were trying to take over. We were all spread out, fighting in pairs and small groups. Clint and Nat were side by side, as usual. I shot a repulsor beam at one of those elves, and then I heard this- this _awful_ scream. I turned immediately, and saw it." He drew in a shaky breath, clutching the glass. "Clint was crumpled on the ground; blood was everywhere. Natasha was screaming this horrible scream and fighting like a mad woman. Knives scratched her, elves punched and kicked her, but she didn't care. She was enraged; a berserker. After the battle ended, we found her there on her knees, just clutching his body. She was crying, and I think that's what got me the most. Ice-cold Nat, just...sobbing. It didn't sink in until then that he was actually _dead_. That Clint'd never hang around the vents, never ambush me with Nerf arrows, never leave pizza boxes all over the kitchen ever again. It...hit hard, of course. He was family."

Tony refilled the tumbler with vodka before sitting down once again. "She was never the same after that. Natasha. We all volunteered to go with her to tell Laura and the kids, but she wouldn't let us. Insisted she go alone. She came back with her eyes just...blank. It never got better. I guess maybe it was a mercy that she was next."

"We were out in the desert somewhere, I don't remember where. It was a damn bloodbath, and we weren't doing well. Natasha was fighting as if on autopilot, covering her left side almost as an afterthought. The enemy managed to injure her, but we didn't know the extent until it was all over. She had her hand on her left side, fingers stained red, blood still pouring from the wound. She gave us this sad little smile, as if she was apologizing. And then she...she collapsed. Legs gave out, and she fell to the sand. Steve rushed forward, trying to catch her, but it was too late. She was gone. I- I saw her face as Steve picked her up to bring back home. She looked...peaceful. For the first time since Clint, she didn't look like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders."

He downed the entirety of his glass. "And Steve- God, _Steve_. That was the worst. Not because he was more important than the rest; no, they were all my family. But he was different. _It_ was different."

"He was captured by some flunkies of our latest villain. They'd gone the whole mile; shot a ransom video and everything. Steve was..." Tony trailed off. "I need more for this," he mumbled before grabbing a full bottle of tequila, taking a swig. "Steve was all bruised up; black eye, bloody lip, and everything. They tried to get him to say a generic do-this-or-he-dies message, but he refused. They- they beat him up. In the video. We, Thor, Bruce, and I, had to watch. Steve never wavered in his conviction, just looked at the camera with that idiotically brave Brooklyn-boy expression. Then, we got another video ten minutes later. They-" Tony broke off, his gaze becoming unfocused.

"They shot him. Held a gun right up to his temple and told him to say what they wanted. Instead, he gazed right into the camera and said, 'Tony, don't blame yourself.' And then he was gone. Right there before our eyes. He died because he was selfless, and that's the worst thing." He sniffed once, then turned away, drinking from his bottle.

"Thor was a while after. We were off-world, not here but not on Asgard either. I was with him and Bruce, and it was supposed to be quiet. Of course, it never is. A blinding stream of light shot out of nowhere, and before we knew it, Thor was literally burning up, turning to ash. His metal armor hit the rocky ground right next to Mjölnir. Bruce and I ran, but not after I picked up his armor. And the hammer. That stupid hammer must've- it must've _known_ Thor was gone, because there was no resistance when I picked it up. I brought that damn hammer back to Asgard with his armor and gave it to Loki. Loki was calm at first, until he set Thor's stuff down. Then he totally lost his shit, throwing magic across the throne room and smashing all these old statues."

"Bruce was the only thing keeping me together at that point. He and I were taking it all one step at a time, side by side, ya know? Until Fury called him in for a mission and he didn't come back. I'm pretty sure they told me it was classified when I asked." Tony slammed the empty bottle down on the table. "But I don't blame Fury. As easy as it was at first, it's not his fault. Orders came from above, so Fury obeyed. And Nick even came to tell me himself. I was an asshole about it, of course, because how do you really take the death of your best friend and last remaining family member? I mean, I know Bruce wasn't _technically_ family, but he was. I freaked out on Nick a bit, but he understood. I think it was tough for him to see me like that, too. When he looked at me, he looked like he was remembering something painful. I think he had someone close to him die, too."

Tony ran a hand over his face. "I'm _so_ drunk right now. Good thing, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to even say all this. It hurts too damn much. I wasn't supposed to be the last one. Thus wasn't supposed to happen." He sighed. "And it's the worst thing in the world, in _any_ world. I lost everyone. My entire family, and even Jarvis. Yeah, he was Vision for a while, but he left. Went off into the galaxy with Wanda. I heard a few months ago that she died, too. In some battle to save the timeline as we know it."

He chuckled humorlessly. "And, as the last remaining Avenger, I felt it my duty to tell their stories. Because they aren't around to tell 'em, that's on me. So, here's Anthony Edward Stark, telling the stories of Clinton Barton, Natalia Romanova, Steven Rogers, Thor Odinson, and Robert 'Bruce' Banner, respectively."

Tony leaned forward, turning off the camera. After it was off, he let out the shaky breath he'd been holding. "I miss you all, so much," he whispered, holding a picture from a party shortly after Ultron that included all the Avengers, smiling. A single tear ran down his cheek, landing on the version of himself in the photograph, as he thought of the way things used to be.

XxX

 _Feedback is appreciated, and thank you for reading._


End file.
